The father of a young Georgia woman fighting a flesh-eating bacteria revealed last night his daughter is now breathing on her own.

Aimee Copeland was taken off the ventilator for several hours yesterday, the latest milestone in her recovery, said Andy Copeland.

Aimee 'is breathing completely on her own! How cool is that?,' her father wrote late on Sunday on his blog, where he's been providing regular updates on the 24-year-old's condition.

Progress: Aimee Copeland's condition has now been changed from serious to good at the Georgia hospital

'Aimee is being Aimee,' Mr Copeland added in the latest update. 'She's cracking jokes, speaking frankly, displaying her usual early morning grumpiness and she has been off of the ventilator for over 10 hours.'

The University of West Georgia student developed a rare condition called necrotizing fasciitis after cutting her leg in a May 1 fall from a homemade zip line over a river.

She's since had most of her left leg amputated at Augusta Hospital. Her father said she was told late last week that her hands and remaining foot would also need to be amputated.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Her recovery has brought support from all over the world. Her father said in his latest update that he was grateful for the outpouring of concern.

'The level of prayer and support has been phenomenal and we intend to read every card and send thank you cards for every gift,' he wrote.

Traumatic: The 24-year-old student from an Atlanta suburb remains in a critical condition as she battles an infection called necrotizing fasciitis

Distraught: Paige Copeland, center, cries as her parents Donna and Andy Copeland speak about their daughter Aimee after she had her leg amputated

When Ms Copeland learned she would lose her hands and remaining foot on Saturday, she responded by saying: 'Let's do this.'

Mr Copeland wrote about the difficult talk he had a day earlier with his daughter after the 24-year-old woman contracted the condition.

He said she 'shed no tears, she never batted an eyelash. I was crying because I am a proud father of an incredibly courageous young lady', Andy Copeland wrote.

Ms Copeland suffered a deep gash in her leg after falling from a homemade zip line earlier this month over a Georgia river, and the bacteria took hold in the wound.

He said he was finally able to tell his daughter on Thursday what had happened since that outing, and how she's been the focus of an outpouring of love from around the world.

'She's cracking jokes, speaking frankly, displaying her usual early morning grumpiness and she has been off of the ventilator for over 10 hours.'

Andy Copeland, father

'We told her that the world loved and admired her,' he wrote in Friday's update.

'We explained that she had become a symbol of hope, love and faith.'

He recalled how Aimee's eyes widened, her jaw dropped. Then, Copeland took his daughter's hands and held them up to her face.

'She didn't draw back in horror. She knew the condition she was in,' he wrote.

He explained that doctors believed her hands were hampering her progress, and they must be removed. Aimee nodded, her father said.

'She smiled and raised her hands up, carefully examining them,' her father wrote.

'She then looked at us. We all understood her next three words - "Let's do this".'

The 24-year-old student from an Atlanta suburb remains in a critical condition as she battles the infection. Doctors hoped they would be able to save her remaining foot after two days of treatment using a hyperbaric chamber, in which patients breathe pure oxygen to boost white blood cells and accelerate healing.

Cherished: Miss Copeland, a 24-year-old graduate from Georgia, has fun with friends

But they later learned that they would have to amputate it and her fingers.

The flesh-eating bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila, emit toxins that cut off blood flow to parts of the body. The affliction can destroy muscle, fat and skin tissue.

Only a week ago, doctors gave her little chance of survival. But in recent days she has been alert and bored enough to have asked for a book to read.

Doctors had to amputate most of Miss Copeland's left leg to save her life.

She has been unable to speak because of her breathing tube in he throat, but her parents said they've learned to read lips and are now able to communicate with their daughter, who was also asking for ice-cream.

'This doctor can't fathom a reason for why she's improved the way she has,' Mr Copeland said earlier this week.

'Her spirits are extraordinarily high. I am absolutely amazed.

Prayers: Aimee Copeland's father says he is amazed by his daughter's attitude as she progresses

Much-loved: Aimee's friends and family are praying for her survival and eventual recovery (from left - Aimee, mother Donna, father Andy and sister Paige)

He said the family also wanted to make sure a hospital counselor was available to help Miss Copeland once she is informed of her condition.

Losing a limb is extremely difficult emotionally, and can be particularly difficult for young people, said Dr. Nadine Kaslow, chief psychologist at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.

'There is a process that they go through, a grief process,' said Kaslow, who is not involved in Miss Copeland's care.

'There is shock, disbelief, anger, sadness and then a period of reconciling one to the situation and healing and figuring out how they are going to move forward in their life.'

Doctors at the local emergency room in Carrollton closed the wound she suffered in the zip line accident with nearly two dozen staples, but it became infected within days.

On May 4, she was diagnosed with the rare infection and flown 200 miles to Augusta for treatment by specialists at Doctors Hospital.

Copeland's father said she faces a long recovery not just from her amputation but also from kidney failure and other organ damage caused by the infection.

'She's going to be here for months,' he said. 'She's going to need to regrow skin that was removed. She's going to need to learn to use prosthetics. She's going to still be on dialysis for a while.'

Fun loving: Aimee's father, Andy, says describes her as 'outdoorsy' and a 'lover of people'

NECROTIZING FASCIITIS: WHAT CAUSES IT, AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

Necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as 'flesh-eating disease', is a rare but extremely vicious bacterial infection. 'Necrotizing' refers to something that causes body tissue to die, and the infection can destroy skin, muscles and fat.

The disease develops when the bacteria enters the body, often through a minor cut or scrape. As the bacteria multiply, they release toxins that kill tissue and cut off blood flow to the area.

Because it is so virulent, the bacteria spreads rapidly throughout the body.

Symptoms include small, red lumps or bumps on the skin, rapidly-spreading bruising, sweating, chills, fever and nausea. Organ failure and shock are also common complications.

Sufferers must be treated immediately to prevent death, and are usually given powerful antibiotics and surgery to remove dead tissue. Amputation can become necessary if the disease spreads through an arm or leg.

Patients may undergo skin grafts after the infection has cleared up, to help the healing process or for aesthetic reasons.